Gunfire on the left. Gunfire on the right. And a gaggle of protesters dead ahead shouting: "Police are bastards" and "F- the police."

While Occupy Oakland protesters rant on and on about the brutality of the Oakland Police Department, brutality has been occurring all around them.

From Thursday to Monday, 15 people were shot in the city in unrelated incidents. And Oakland police weren't responsible for any of those shootings. Five of the people who were shot died.

Perhaps Occupy Oakland should plan a march to protest all the violence in our city - including their own.

Because in Oakland's most dangerous flatland neighborhoods, it's random chaos, not the Oakland Police Department, that's behind the lion's share of bloodshed.

In most U.S. cities, such a series of incidents might prompt a full-blown response from police. In Oakland, it's just another typical weekend. The standard for what constitutes civilized behavior has fallen through the floor - and Oakland city leaders are at a loss to respond in any effective manner.

On Thursday, four people were shot in three separate incidents in East and West Oakland. Two of the victims died. On Friday, a man was shot and killed in East Oakland; Saturday, another man was shot and killed in East Oakland; Sunday saw six people shot in a single incident in West Oakland and a double shooting later in North Oakland. Early Monday morning, police found a homicide victim on an East Oakland street.

Authorities provided few details but said some of the shootings may be linked by an ongoing feud between rival groups.

Traditionally, Oakland has been the Bay Area city where some of the region's poorest residents, including immigrants, can afford a place to live. The city has long carried a disproportionate burden of the region's poor and struggled with urban blight and high rates of crime.

This city does not have the capacity to entertain a new, imported brand of criminal behavior. We're thin on both police officers and fiscal resources.

One veteran Oakland police officer called the ongoing Occupy protests "the new sideshow," a reference to the old problem of illegal street car rallies that drew hundreds of people and sometimes ended with violence.

The jarring downtown demonstrations, held since October, seem to reflect the way Oakland is widely regarded. It's a place where anything goes - including violent occupations and shootings almost every night.

The city's Occupiers must be taking their cue from the rest of society: It's OK to tear up Oakland, because whether it's sideshows or shootings that rival the Old West, that's what people do here.

It's especially stark when you consider the impact of Occupiers elsewhere: In Berkeley, a university town, city officials are exploring the feasibility of withdrawing $220 million in deposits from Wells Fargo Bank and opening an account with a smaller, community bank.

In Petaluma, and San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood, residents have banded together to organize and address the sole issue of home foreclosures.

In Oakland, everyone is just trying to make it through another day. Where's our justice? Where's our peace?